Administrative Law Flashcards
7 cards from real DE BAR practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Administrative Law flashcards as text
A statute says agency orders are reviewable 'after all administrative appeals conclude.' A party seeks review after the ALJ ruling but before the agency board decides the internal appeal. The court should:
Answer: Dismiss because the agency action is not yet final
The finality doctrine limits judicial review to agency actions that consummate the agency's decision-making process.
Which challenger most clearly has standing to contest an agency rule?
Answer: A business directly regulated by the rule facing immediate compliance costs
Standing requires a concrete, particularized injury fairly traceable to the challenged action, which a directly regulated party plainly has.
An agency changes a longstanding policy through adjudication without explaining the reversal. A court would most likely find the action:
Answer: Arbitrary and capricious for failure to give a reasoned explanation
Agencies must acknowledge and reasonably explain departures from prior policy or the action is arbitrary and capricious.
Delaware's Register of Regulations is published:
Answer: Monthly, containing proposed and final regulations
The Register of Regulations is published monthly and includes proposed regulations, final regulations, and related notices.
An investigator issues an administrative subpoena for business records. To be enforceable, the subpoena must be:
Answer: Within the agency's authority, reasonably relevant, and not unduly burdensome
Administrative subpoenas are enforced if authorized by statute, seeking relevant material, and not overly broad or burdensome.
A licensee's professional license is suspended without any prior hearing where no emergency exists. The strongest constitutional claim is:
Answer: Deprivation of a property interest without procedural due process
A professional license is a protected property interest, and absent an emergency, due process requires a hearing before suspension.
The 'committed to agency discretion by law' exception to judicial review applies when:
Answer: The statute provides no meaningful standard against which to judge the agency's exercise of discretion
Review is precluded where there is no law to apply because the statute gives the court no standard for evaluating the agency's choice.